Page 47 of Until Tomorrow
“Thank you.” Eva leaned over and kissed my shoulder. “But seriously, why do men think it’s okay to just send dick pictures? I don’t want that! And most of them aren’t impressive anyway.”
“I think that’s a straight-man problem,” I replied honestly. “I have yet to encounter that issue.”
“You mean you’re not scrolling through profile pictures and justBAM! Dick in the face?”
I paused to think about the dozens of profiles I’d gone through. Sure, there’d been some questionable shirtless pictures and maybe a handful of suggestive ones but straight-up dicks? Not a single one. And none of the men I’d started conversations with had ever sent one uninvited, either.
“No, thankfully.”
“That’s not fair,” she muttered, stabbing her cereal, which was impressive, considering she had a spoon. “It’s exhausting. I mean, sure, it’s easy to block the guys who just hide them in their profiles, but the ones who send them uninvited are gross. It gives me the creeps.”
“I’m sorry that’s the experience you’re having.” I meant that. I hated the idea ofthatbeing what she had to deal with.
“It’s not all bad,” Eva said. “Neil wasn’t horrible.”
Neil was a guy she’d met for lunch one day and was possibly the most boring human being on the planet—her words, not mine.However, he was proof of why I struggled with dating profiles.While I knew how important the moment was for her, it proved to be equally important for me. I’d gone into the whole thing not knowing how I’d feel, but it didn’t bother me. Did I worry? Yes, but I always worried about Eva. The woman could cross the street and I’d worry about a bus hitting her. Anxiety was a pain like that.
But I wasn’t upset. I wasn’t jealous. In fact, I found myself rooting for it to go okay and waiting to hear from her. Her disappointment bothered me.
All of that had to be progress.At least, I wanted it to be.
“I was talking to a woman—I liked her,” she continued.
“That’s good,” I replied. “Any plans?”
“I liked her until she incorporated her boyfriend into the chat. They were looking for a unicorn,” she told me. “And I made sure they knew the only way I’m like a unicorn is that I get stabby when I’m hangry.”
“I love you,” I snorted into my coffee.Also accurate. Well, maybe not stabby but definitely volatile.“Remind me again what a unicorn is?”
There were so many damn terms to keep up with. Admittedly, if I applied the same study methods I’d used in law school, I’d figure them out, but I liked the conversations with Eva as we learned together.
“It’s when a couple tries to add a third partner to the relationship,” Eva explained. “It’s considered unethical because the expectation is an equal relationship between all three partners, but that’s a lot of pressure to put on the third. Relationships are all different, but unicorn hunting doesn’t allow for that.”
“Sounds messy.”
“It is. Plus, the unicorn is expected to just follow all the rules and such set by the couple. There’s a power imbalance. Also, most of the time, the third is a bisexual woman, so there’s a lot about how it contributes to the fetishization of bisexual women in the community.”
“Makes sense,” I murmured.
“And I’m not bisexual, so it was pointless,” she said. “And he looked like Ted Bundy had a baby with Ron White.”
I spit out my coffee at that image, coughing hard. She patted me on the back while she continued to eat as if nothing had happened.
“Good God,” I rasped.
“Next time, make sure you’re not drinking?”
“Yes, please.” I cleared my throat.Good God, the things she said.Her hand remained on my back, rubbing small circles between my shoulder blades.
“What about you?” she asked. “Have you talked to anyone else since Matt?”
“That was four matches ago,” I said. Her brow arched curiously, but she said nothing. “I am… just struggling with this method of meeting people. It’s hard to figure out who people are on a screen. I’m not good at small talk.”
“Have you thought about just saying that and asking someone out for a drink or a coffee?” she replied. My lips pressed together tightly.I had not.“It’s okay if it’s difficult to get to know someone via messages, sweetheart. And it’s okay to just move straight to setting up a date.”
“I know you’re right.”I’d had the same thoughts.
“Still nervous?”
